Latest news with #Samis
The Star
20 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Finnish Samis urge stronger voice in EU decision-making
HELSINKI, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the Finnish Sami community called for stronger Indigenous participation in European Union (EU) policymaking at the EU Arctic Forum held Friday in Kittila, northern Finland. Tuomas Aslak Juuso, vice president of the Sami Parliament in Finland, emphasized that EU policies significantly influence the daily lives of the Samis - from climate adaptation to cross-border trade - yet the Sami people currently lack a direct mechanism to shape those policies. He noted that while the EU formally recognized the special status of the Samis in Finland's EU accession treaty, a legal foundation that protects Indigenous rights such as reindeer herding, recent initiatives like the European Green Deal have frequently failed to reflect the needs of Indigenous communities. The Samis have long advocated for permanent parliamentary representation in Brussels and a formal partnership between the Sami Parliamentary Council (SPC) and the European Parliament. However, Juuso pointed out that the EU still lacks an internal policy on Indigenous peoples. He further urged the creation of dedicated EU funding mechanisms to support Sami adaptation and strengthen community resilience. Such funds, he argued, should directly address the impacts of climate change on traditional livelihoods like reindeer herding, fishing, and handicrafts. Also speaking at the forum, former Finnish President Tarja Halonen highlighted the importance of protecting Indigenous rights and ensuring their active role in shaping EU policies. "The cultural heritage and knowledge of Indigenous peoples are essential to the resilience of ecosystems - both in the Arctic and globally," Halonen said. She warned that despite contributing the least to environmental degradation, Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss, particularly in the rapidly warming Arctic region. The Samis are the only recognized Indigenous people within the EU, with their traditional homeland spanning the northern regions of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and parts of Russia. The EU Arctic Forum runs from June 26 to 27, with side events scheduled on June 25 and 28.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Green energy projects adding to Sami people's climate woes: Amnesty
Climate change and efforts to curb it by moving away from fossil fuels are both threatening the rights and livelihood of Sami indigenous people in the Arctic, Amnesty International said Friday. There are about 100,000 Samis -- considered Europe's last indigenous population -- many of whom live from traditional reindeer herding, which requires vast open spaces. But the expansion of infrastructure for renewable energy production and mineral extraction is hindering their ancestral ways of living, said the report, which Amnesty International drafted in partnership with the non-governmental Sami Council. "Climate change threatens the culture and existence of the Sami indigenous people in two ways," it said. "Firstly, through direct environmental impacts such as changing weather conditions and ecosystems, and secondly, through the increasing number of energy projects and resource extraction... in the name of 'green' development and 'clean' energy transition." The Samis and their migratory herds are spread across the vast open spaces of Arctic Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. The report -- entitled "Just transition or 'green colonialism'?" -- takes the example of the Fosen wind farms in Norway, where 151 turbines were installed on what opponents said was traditional reindeer habitat. Norway's Supreme Court later ruled that the construction of the turbines was illegal, since it had no valid licences, and that it was violating Sami people's rights as granted by the United Nations. - Warming Arctic - The case triggered a vast mobilisation of environmental and Sami activists, who demanded the turbines be demolished. It ended with a financial settlement with herders. The report highlighted other conflicts surrounding mine projects in the Swedish village of Ronnbac, and in Kasivarsi, Finland -- both of which threatened reindeer herding, it said. Amnesty and the Sami Council urged authorities in Nordic countries to increase consultations with Sami populations and seek their agreement before granting any new infrastructure projects that could infringe on their rights. These disputes add to the direct effects of climate change, which in the Arctic manifest themselves three or four times faster than elsewhere in the world. Among other challenges, temperatures are rising, with "frequent temperatures around 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit)". If rain falls on existing snow, it freezes and forms an ice crust over the surface, meaning reindeer cannot reach lichen, their main food source. Early ice melting means river crossings are not covered by sufficiently solid ice or are flooded, making herding and reindeer migration perilous or even impossible. phy/ef/djt
